"It was you... The one I fell in love with. This entire time, it was you."
***
It all started with the end.
Han Jisung─an orphan whose only goal for the future is to build a better life for himself and his sister─and Lee Minho─also known as...
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"If you want to kiss me, do it later. My guest is here."
That's all Jisung needed to hear in order to get off of Minho's lap. He glanced at the person who just joined them and nearly sighed in relief at the sight of a young, tall and handsome man. At least he wasn't old and ugly.
Jisung sat down on the opposite couch, wiping his sweaty palms on his pants. Felix was still attending to CL ─ they were chatting and laughing together ─ while Jeongin was seated in Chan's lap.
"Park Yeonho. It's been a while."
"Venom. Looking just as toxic as the last time I saw you."
Jisung was about to laugh at the pun, but swallowed his amusement because it seemed to offend Minho. Yeonho greeted the others by nodding his head in their direction, then squeezed in between Chan and Minho. Everyone except Jisung and Jeongin glared at him like they didn't want him there.
"What is this loud and stinky place?" Yeonho muttered. "I really hope you aren't trying to discuss important business matters with me here. We could've met in a more optimal environment."
Minho scoffed, a wintry smile forming on his face. "Don't underestimate me. I prepared a quiet space for our meeting, but I wanted you to meet my new friend first."
Minho pointed at Jisung. When Yeonho turned his head in that direction and made eye contact with the boy, he gasped and sat on the edge of his seat with a stunned face.
"Dongwonie?"
'What did he just call me?'
Minho put his arms on his knees as if to get a closer look at Jisung as well. "No. The dead stay dead. This is Han Jisung."
"Han Jisung..." Yeonho echoed dreamily. "The resemblance is uncanny..." He snatched Minho's drink out of his hand and gulped it all down. "Uh, sorry, I'm Park Yeonho. Sorry for being weird, you just look like someone I used to know."
Jisung took his hand and shook it. 'I'm a dead person's lookalike, aren't I?'
"He will entertain you tonight," Minho broke in. "You can do whatever you want with him."
"You know all my weaknesses, Venom," Yeonho laughed. "I'm gonna have so much fun tonight."
Jisung felt uncomfortable, but smiled meekly. He expected that Minho's guest would want to toy with him like a doll designed for his own entertainment. It's what he agreed to, of course, but it was hard to follow Minho's scheme.
All of it was out of his comfort zone: the place, the music, the smoke and alcohol stench he hated, the lewd images he'd witnessed, the attention he'd been receiving, the fondling he had to put up with, and the lust he was being watched with. For an inexperienced teenager, it was too much to take in at once.
